Challenge Day 4

Aaaaaaand, we're back to boring post titles! Oh well.

Today I prepared a green smoothie called Orange Jewels. That is such a weird name for a smoothie. I was pretty skeptical about this recipe, because it calls for 2 oranges. I like oranges, don't get me wrong. By themselves. I don't like orange flavored stuff, and I don't like oranges mixed with other stuff. I'm not a tropical, fruity, citrusy-flavored gal. Plus, oranges tend to make my reflux flare up, so I try to avoid them like the plague.

But, in the name of trying new things for this green smoothie challenge, I was down with tryin out an Orange Jewels smoothie. It wasn't bad tasting. It just wasn't wonderful to me. Way too much citrus. Though that could have been because I messed up a bit...

Here's the recipe:

• 2 cups spinach
• 1 1/2 cups almond milk, unsweetened
• 1 teaspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 banana
• 2 oranges, peeled
• 1 cup pineapple
• 2 teaspoons spirulina, optional

Very fruity. First off, I do not have any spirulina. I hear its an excellent source of protein, and if I can find some easily I will probably try it. I'm not stressing about it, though. One of my friends uses it in her green smoothies and says it doesn't alter the taste, though it is quite green.

Okay, so this morning I gathered my ingredients and right away thought I had a problem. I looked in the bag where my oranges and one lemon were and couldn't find the lemon! This is proof that I am clearly not a morning person, because the lemon was right there in front of me. I guess I was expecting it to be super yellow. But it was a very pale orange color. Maybe because it was organic? (I don't normally buy organic fruits and vegetables, but at Harris Teeter earlier this week I was so overwhelmed and didn't realize until it was too late that many of the produce I bought was, in fact, organic. And thus expensive.) Anyway, once I reassured myself that the pale orange in front of me was, in fact, a lemon, I started preparing the smoothie.

I blended my almond milk and spinach first, like always (this helps to make sure the greens really get blended well - no chunks, thank you very much!). Then I halved the orange-lemon and squeezed what I assumed was about a teaspoon into the blender (who has time to measure?!). So far so good. Next, I peeled the oranges and threw them in piece by piece, blending well before each addition. I do NOT like pulp AT ALL, so I really tried to cut that out. (And failed.) After that, I threw in the banana (frozen) and some pineapple chunks (also frozen) and kept blending for a while.

While that bad boy was blending away, I started to clean up. My intentions were to save the lemon and use it in my water. I don't like to waste anything, and I love lemon slices in water (though I never buy lemons for that purpose; too expensive). But when I turned back to my cutting board, nothing remained. Okay, I thought, I probably just put the lemon in the fridge and didn't even process the thought. Please tell me I'm not the only person who does stuff like that all the time!! Nope, not in the fridge. Not in the trash. Then I realized that I must have threw the lemon into the blender with the oranges! This is what I get for tryin to make fancy stuff in the morning (haha).

The smoothie looked beautiful to me:

But, boy, the citrus scent was overwhelming! I tasted it and didn't hate it, so I knew I could drink it. I poured half of it into my gorgeous new bling cup and put it in the fridge.

I grabbed it on the way out the door. C asked to taste it (she tasted the Berry Cold Fighter smoothie yesterday, too), and she said she liked it, but didn't want a second sip. I sipped on it all the way to work, but the pulp was disgusting to me. I seriously have a huge problem with pulp. I don't know if maybe I should have blended this for longer, or if I just need a better blender to accomplish no pulp, but this was unacceptable to me. Surprisingly, the flavor was okay, though since it was so citrusy, its not something I'd want very often. Just not my cup of tea smoothie.

I forced myself to keep sipping at work, telling myself that despite the pulp, this smoothie was awesome and really good for me. It worked until I was down to the last few sips, then I just couldn't do it anymore. "A" for effort, though, right?

Since I have another serving left, I'm gonna blend in a banana tomorrow morning and sip it tomorrow during our church's annual harvest sale. Hopefully the banana will make it taste better, and maybe more blending will get rid of some pulp. Either way, I'm gonna make myself drink it cause Lord knows I'll need some energy tomorrow. I'll be working the drive-thru (with one of my challenge buddies!), which means I'll be on my feet and running around (in the 85 degree heat - seriously, Earth, its FALL, get with the program!!) from 10-2. And after that, we'll have an auction which usually lasts until 6pm or so. Yep, I'll definitely be glad I'll have the power of greens in me tomorrow! (Oh, jeez, that was super lame.)